- - - - Dynasys A.P.U.

I had one installed on my truck almost two years ago. I've had a lot of trouble with it.
1. It's really loud, like having a reefer motor mounted to the tractor.
2. The control panel is way too complicated for what you would look for in an APU, and it's prone to faulting out. (I'm going to have my third panel installed in a couple of days)
3. It has a habit of either making the air too hot or too cold since the control panel is junk
4. The wire from the control panel to the main control box comes loose several time a month, and has to be plugged in again before it can be run. This plug is really hard to get to under the bunk against the rear wall of the compartment.
5. The air supply hose comes apart from the a/c unit, and it is also really hard to get to to replace it and re-tighten the hose clamp that holds it on.
6. The circuit to the cooling fan for the motor melted shortly after purchase, and had to be replaced at a dealer costing me a lost days work.

Servicing it is easy, and you can buy the filters at any auto supply house. Also, it does burn a lot less fuel than idling. Another side benefit of not idling is far less wear on the motor. I know when I had mine installed, the oil analysis I have done on oil changes improved with each change as the excess soot deposits were removed from the engine over time. Also, my truck never uses oil between changes anymore.

There are other advantages too. If your alternator on the truck goes out, you can get power from the APU to get you to a repair shop that won't gouge you for repairs. Also, if your batteries get too low, the APU will start up and recharge them. This comes in real handy on weekends, because you can leave food in the refrigerator and keep it cold while you're home without killing the batteries. The added 110 volt system comes in handy too.

In short, while it does work, I will go with Tripak for my next APU. The only advantage I can see with the Dynasys is their in house financing. If you cannot afford to pay cash for a Tripak, get the Dynasys. Even with all the problems, it's way cheaper than the cost of idling.

I hope this answers your questions.,

 

I was gonna go the Dynasys route do to the finacing, but they charge huge interest and over time the tripack is much much cheaper. I found an even better solution for winter though. I bought a wabasco bunk heater. Cost 800 bucks on flebay. i installed it myself. Now i have all the heat I want. I have AGM batts so with my inverter I have all the power I want. No it doesn't help for summer and it doesn't provide electric. but good batts will provide enough electric. APU's also use around .3 gallons per hour and my wbasko uses .3 in 8 hours. A 10 hour break cost me less then 2 bucks. On an apu it cost around 10-12 bucks.

Now, obviosly im still SOL in the summer. I normaly run box fans int he front windows with screens. An APU would be nice then, but unless your always running in the south, it doesnt make sence to me to invest 8K+ in something I only NEED a few nights a summer.

Even if you do buy a apu, spend the extra for a diesel bunk heater since it is far more fuel efficient at keeping you warm. Some of the new apus come with diesel heaters as their main form of winter heat.

 

The TriPac does come with a diesel bunk heater. And at full load in summer, I think it burns around .1 gallon an hour. Go with a TriPac- you won't regret it ever.

 

How do you "think it burns around .1 gallon an hour". The spec for the new evolution says .2/hour. Was this metered or just guessed? (the old tripac said .3 on the website)

 

I wasn't sure about the fuel consumption of the heater... I figured that it was between .1 and .2 per hour based on what I've read. I've never actually measured it myself. What I was refering to fuel consumption running the AC full blast in the summer anyway. Why would anyone want to run the heater in the heat of the summer anyway?

 

I have had a dynasys for 2 years, only had 3 minor problems in that time. I had mine done at boomer diesel in okie city. the financing deal wasn't bad , i didn't pay one penny down, the financing is done like a lease so the entire payment is tax deductible.

the dynasy is a bit louder than a tripac because its running a generator while a tripac only runs an alternator. i set mine on auto , so it cuts on and off as needed. it doesn't run constantly. after i had the unit a year, i had boomer install a pully kit which enables lower rpm operation, while keeping the generator at the same rpm for further fuel savings and sound reduction.

 

Garbage...pure and simple...

 

Boss just had them installed on his trucks. We run international 9600's hauling frac sand in tx. So far no issues. Has auto fan and temp mode, or manual fan speeds and heat/cool. Yes it is louder than a tripac or Willis Apu but I used to run reefer so no big deal. Still quieter than a truck. They had 2 major recalls on all the old units. You can see what they were on their website under support.

The he cable that the above poster spoke of is now a cat5 Ethernet cable. My only issue is the low fan speed setting takes a while to kick on. Medium and high are instant. It's maybe a 30 second wait. Talked to a guy who works in my company and he said the other truck is was in did that but the one he is in now doesn't. So idk. I'm gonna call big rig in new braunfels and ask since that is who installed it. Overall I am happy with it, but personally I would have gone with a Willis Apu. But closest install was ft. Smith ak.

 

Willis is crap too. My dad almost froze to death one winter because the truck froze up and that so called "apu" wouldn't keep him warm. Plus they are obnoxiously loud, about as bad as those stinking Rigmasters. Go TriPac, you won't regret it!